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Birding with 12s: Swarovski NL Pure 12×42

10,000 Birds

I tested the 12s at my usual stomping grounds where I am used to local species and landscape, at their usual distances from the observer, so I could immediately spot a different experience. So I asked myself would a higher magnification (than my usual 8x) prove to be a significant improvement?

Birds 264
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Black-winged Stilt

10,000 Birds

When the land is flooded after rain it will move inland and breed at the ephemeral lakes and raise its young there. It is a very easy species to find in the Broome area and present throughout the year. The closest similar species is the Banded Stilt , but it is a stockier bird with shorter legs.

Australia 159
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Whooping Crane at Joe Overstreet Road

10,000 Birds

Like my two previous visits I spent one day that I didn’t have to lead any field trips doing a run through central Florida looking for some of the specialty species of the region. On my previous trips I was successful on each and every species except for the crane. I sat for quite some time, scoping the bird.

Cattle 201
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Into the Nest: A Book Review in the Time of Nesting

10,000 Birds

So, the 49 subject species include birds with interesting family behaviors that we might not see every day (Cedar Waxwing, Great Blue Heron, Peregrine Falcon), migrant songbirds (Tree and Barn Swallows, House Wren), and common, everyday birds (Northern Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, and, yes, Rock Pigeon). Egg biology, from Part I.

Eggs 263
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Bunny Love

10,000 Birds

Predators that rely on lemmings, like the Snowy Owl , took advantage of the bounty and had great breeding success, raising large broods which, after the lemming population crashes, dispersed far and wide. On the hills lining Strathcona Sound, about an hours snowmobile ride away, several large herds can be found.

Rabbits 214
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Britain’s Birds: An Identification Guide to the Birds of Britain and Ireland–A Book Review

10,000 Birds

Over 3,200 photographs have been used, most showing species in their habitats. There is also text, distribution maps, a dark red bar “warning” about similar looking rare species, and conservation symbols. So, how do you find the species account for Kestrel if falcons are not placed between woodpeckers and parakeet?

Ireland 146
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Falconry – Bloodsport or Alternative Form of Birding?

10,000 Birds

Dirt hawking is a form of falconry that involves hunting rabbits and other small game with Harris Hawks (other hawk species also qualify). One of the primary reasons that these hawks make such excellent falconry birds is because they are one of only two raptor species (the other is the Galapagos Hawk ) that hunt cooperatively.